The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 103 - 93 Qinling Ancient Path_2

Chapter 103: Chapter 93 Qinling Ancient Path_2

Some people entered the side hall and looked at the room covered in thick dust; the elder sighed, "Travel is hard, there are always many inconveniences. Feng Ping, bring some chairs for the lady and the young mistress."

"And also, take some pastries to the neighbors to maintain proper etiquette."

"Yes, master."

The middle-aged man first moved two small chairs down from the sedan chair, then took a lacquered box from inside, and came into the room where Li Yan and the others were. He said with cupped hands, "Thank you all, my master has asked me to bring some pastries for everyone to taste."

"Pastries from The Four Fragrances Bakery?"

Sha Lifei’s eyes lit up, and he took the offer directly, "This is so kind of you, please thank that elder on our behalf."

"There’s no need for thanks."

The middle-aged man, Feng Ping, nodded and turned to leave.

"Wow, look at the etiquette of these people; they must be from a wealthy family!"

Sha Lifei praised while opening the lacquered box.

The box with its black base and red patterns was already a craft passed down from the Han, simple and elegant. Upon opening it, the neatly arranged, colorful pastries inside were even more pleasing to the eye.

"The pastries from The Four Fragrances Bakery..." Sha Lifei reminisced, "These things are not cheap; they cost ten silvers a box. The last time I had them was when I did a favor for a wealthy merchant in Chang’an and snagged a bite."

Li Yan, who had tasted countless good things in his previous life, did not find these beautiful pastries impressive, so he let the others divide them up. Then he went to lift the lid of the pot.

In an instant, steam rose and a savory aroma wafted out.

It was just a common pot dish: chopped chicken, stir-fried with the pickles they brought, water added and boiled, and then some salt tossed in thoughtlessly.

However, now with his extraordinary sense of smell, he could prepare even ordinary ingredients perfectly, with exquisite control of the fire, bringing out the natural flavors of the food, hence it was also considered delicious.

Everyone was eager and served themselves a large bowl, crumbling their dry bread into the hot soup, taking a gulp of alcohol and a bite of their meal, squatting on the ground eating heartily with sweat on their foreheads.

After dinner, everyone went to bed early.

Although staying here temporarily due to the rain, they all were experienced travelers and knew that the road ahead was tough, so they seized the opportunity to rest.

Only Wang Daoxuan and Li Yan sat next to the campfire.

The two discussed taking turns to meditate and ’Storing God’ during the first and second halves of the night, with the one not meditating acting as a protector and also keeping night watch.

Li Yan took the second half of the night, so after everyone else had fallen asleep, he sat cross-legged and began with Visualization of his internal organs. Then, he gathered that little bit of spiritual light in the surrounding darkness, focusing it all on the center of his forehead and entered into a meditative state for ’Storing God.’

Soon, a white light from his forehead expanded, revealing a figure of a Daoist.

After months of practice, the outline of ’Storing God’ became clearer and clearer, and one could make out its form; it resembled a Daluo Dharma Body, wearing a Daoist robe and sitting on a lotus pedestal.

Moreover, the facial features were exactly like his.

This was the deity Li Yan visualized.

With the protection of Daluo Dharma Body right from the beginning of his meditation, not even a bit of spiritual light was wasted. Furthermore, as he hadn’t engaged in any magical duels, his Divine Sense was intact; thus, Li Yan’s cultivation progress was astounding.

By the time he would reach Taibai Mountain, his Dao would be strong enough to build a tower.

Such an accomplishment seemed miraculous to others.

You see, without building a tower as part of their meditation beforehand, even if people practiced diligently every night, some of their spiritual light would still dissipate, like water entering and leaking from a pool simultaneously.

This alone would waste a lot of time.

Li Yan had no such concerns, and what’s more, should his Divine Sense get injured, he could ’swap injury’ through Daluo Dharma Body, meaning his Dao wouldn’t drop because of a single duel, leaving him free of many worries.

Yet, at this moment, he felt no joy.

Inside his Dantian, atop the palm of the left hand of the Daluo Dharma Body, the ’Hook Paper’ mark became even more obvious, seemingly becoming a natural part of his skin.

That was something from the Yin Bureau!

Even the Taixuan Orthodox Sect was somewhat cautious of that mysterious place.

After becoming a live Yin messenger, would his secrets get discovered...?

The closer he got to the Qinling Mountains, the more unsettled Li Yan felt.

Without realizing it, his daily ’Storing God’ Visualization came to an end.

After Li Yan awoke, it was past midnight; the people in the room were sleeping soundly, and although the campfire blazed, it could not dispel the chill of the late autumn rain.

Looking at Wang Daoxuan meditating, Li Yan added some more wood to the fire and sat in front of the campfire to keep watch.

Of course, he also didn’t rest idle but took out two books from his backpack.

One was the ’Splitting and Hanging Palm boxing manual,’ and the other was the ’Qin Han Drum Rhythm.’

Both were gifts from Zhou Pan, the head of the Spring Breeze Class.

The Cloud Thunder Divine Drum, after all, was a Magic Artifact. He carried it with him, hanging it on the horse’s back, and during these days, he consistently beat it at certain times every day to train his Hidden Energy, which noticeably increased his power.

However, to use it as a Magic Artifact, random beating would not suffice; his ’Storing God’ had to be combined with the ’Qin Han Drum Rhythm’ to truly unleash its power.

And then, there was this ’Splitting and Hanging Palm’ boxing manual.

In these past few encounters, he had discovered his own shortcomings.

Setting aside the gap in martial power for now, the weaknesses in his boxing technique had already begun to show.

The Red Fist was nimble, specializing in tight, tricky strikes. Thanks to his father’s influence and his own experiences from his previous life, he had truly dedicated himself to mastering these kinds of attacks.

What’s known as tricky strikes involve a mix of hooking, hanging, winding, and sticking.

Indeed, this had proven true during his battle with Zhou Bai. As long as he could get in close, he had no fear and could even often turn his weakness into strength.

In martial arts, distance is critically important.

Following his father’s plan, long-range attacks would utilize Guan Shan’s swift blade, while close-range combat would rely on the Red Fist’s tricky strikes, which quickly established his combat effectiveness and forged a reputation for himself.

However, it was now somewhat insufficient.

It wasn’t that the Red Fist was lacking, but rather, each individual’s personality and physique are different. Having a foundation in a "mother fist" technique was crucial to absorb various styles and unleash one’s potential, allowing one to go farther in the future.

For instance, in his fight with the practitioner of Iron Wire Fist, he was completely out of his depth and could only rely on his wits and the opponent’s psychological weaknesses.

Moreover, these past few months, Li Yan noticed he had grown taller.

Accordingly, his boxing technique naturally needed to evolve.

Zhou Pan, with his unusually long arms, selected the Tongbei Monkey Fist.

His choice, on the other hand, was the Splitting and Hanging Fist.

The Splitting and Hanging Fist involved the use of palms and was also known as the Splitting and Hanging Palm, excelling at mid to long-range enemy suppression.

It emphasized extending the reach for distant strikes; at a distance, one would strike long, and up close, one would whip and lash. It could both collect and extend, shorten and lengthen, perfectly controlling spatial distances to compensate for his shortcomings.

Combined with the explosive punch within the Red Fist, its power was all the more formidable.

Choosing this path had another reason.

The Hidden Energy he had cultivated before was the Red Fist’s silk-threading energy, but now he was practicing the Divine Drum’s Cloud Thunder Sound – domineering and fierce, with the Thunder Astral intimidating in all directions, his boxing technique had to complement it to eventually condense his Fist Intent.

Beside the night fire in the rain, Li Yan flipped through the boxing manual, occasionally falling into deep thought.

Of course, this was just a preliminary understanding.

Changing one’s boxing style is as difficult as ascending to heaven. Although he wasn’t completely overhauling his style, developing his own signature would not be achieved overnight and would certainly require seeking instruction from a master.

Masters gathered in Chang’an; after his journey to the Qinling Mountains, it would be perfect to find a skilled teacher in the Splitting and Hanging Fist...

...

Before he realized it, the night had passed.

Just as Wang Daoxuan had predicted, the early morning autumn rain continued without ceasing, drizzling persistently.

Transporting a coffin back home had a taboo; the coffin must not touch the ground. Traveling in such weather, even wrapped in tarpaulins, the coffin could hardly avoid getting wet.

Were it to slip or overturn, that would be truly unfortunate.

The group split firewood, boiled water, and made porridge. A steaming bowl of rice porridge with the previous day’s leftover vegetables was enough to warm the body even in the abode.

By noon, the autumn rain had finally stopped.

Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan stepped out to check the sky and saw that their neighbor also emerged from his courtyard.

The elderly gentleman stroked his beard while gazing into the distance at the mountains surrounded by swirling mist. His mood lifted noticeably, and he began with a smile, "Feng Ping, do you know what road we are on?"

"Qin Chu Ancient Road."

"What is its history?"

"This... this subordinate does not know."

The old man sighed as he looked into the distance, "The Qinling Mountains divide the north and south, being one of the three great Dragon Veins from Pre-Qin times that starts in Xianyang and ends at Nanshan, thus earning the name Zhongnan Mountain. Later generations continued to extend it, finally connecting the lands of Qin and Chu."

"I see now," the middle-aged guard said, as enlightenment dawned on him.

Yet, the old man shook his head, "From ancient times, our ancestors blazed trails through sheer cliffs and linked all corners of the land."

"There is the Ziwu Road from Chang’an to Han Zhong, Ankang, and the Ba Shu region..."

"There is the Luo Valley Road heading south through Zhouzhi to the West Luo Valley, leading to Han Zhong..."

"And there is the Baoxie Road, allegedly carved by Emperor Yu, and also the routes through Chen Cang, Lanwu, Yi Valley, Xigu Road..."

"This subordinate has heard of that, slipping through Chen Cang in secret."

"Correct, if our ancient forebears could do so much, why should I, an old man, fear a temporary setback? When I return to Fengyang, I will endure hardships and nurture the younger generation of my clan, biding my time. In thirty years, who’s to say the situation won’t be entirely different?"

Hearing this gentleman’s elegant talk, Wang Daoxuan couldn’t help but feel an affinity, "Such insight from the venerable sir. We, too, are headed to Fengyang. May I have the honor of your esteemed name?"

The old man pondered for a moment, "Since we share the road in sending off the deceased, there’s no need for secrecy. I am Lu Kang."

Li Yan and Sha Lifei exchanged glances, their expressions turning somewhat strange...